ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20189
No(s). 10-C-137 (E.D. Wis. Sep 5, 2012) (Griesbach, J.)

A district court held that a village lacks authority to impose storm water fees on parcels of Native American land held in trust by the United States. The parcels are situated within the village's and tribe's common boundaries. The village contends that the charges constitute fees for the services performed, or to be performed, under its storm water management utility ordinance that will benefit all of the landowners of the village, including the tribe. But the charges constitute a tax. Like property taxes used to pay for schools, the storm water fees confer a benefit on the public generally, as opposed to only those who pay. Because lands taken into trust for an Indian tribe are exempt from state and local taxation, the court enjoined the village from imposing such charges on the tribe's land. In addition, the court dismissed the village's claims against the United States because CWA §313 does not constitute a waiver of the United States' sovereign immunity over Indian trust lands.